Not the actual Turner Field visitors clubhouse, where his Washington Nationals were in the process of taking two of three from the NL East-rival Braves, but rather the talent and atmosphere and enthusiasm of the players in the clubhouse.

“This team is almost identical to the 2008 Tampa Bay team,” Jackson said. “We bought into it, and we believed we could go out and win, and we did. This team right here, we’ve been in first place the majority of the season. We’ve had stretches where we’ve lost games, and we’re still in first place.”

The 2008 Rays shocked baseball, going from a 66-win squad in 2007 to a 97-win team that won the rugged AL East and made it all the way to the World Series before falling to the Phillies. Tampa Bay’s rotation of young starters—at 26, James Shields was the elder statesman—was the primary reason for the team’s stunning success. Jackson was then a hard-throwing 24-year-old who was just figuring out how to harness his talent while thriving in a clubhouse unique in baseball.

“He says that team had great chemistry,” Nationals starter Gio Gonzalez said. “He mentions that all the time, talks about how the guys were fun to be around, guys were picking each other’s brains, helping each other out and pulling for each other. We get that feeling here. We’re having fun, playing our game.”

Like those Rays, these Nationals are led by their rotation of young, hard-throwing pitchers. Except this time, at 28, Jackson is the elder statesman. Gonzalez, Jordan Zimmermann and Ross Detwiler are 26, and Stephen Strasburg is just 23.

“They are where they’re at because of their starting rotation,” Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said. “And their bullpen, by the way, let’s not forget the bullpen. That’s been able to get them through all the injuries they’ve had, with (Jayson) Werth being out and (Mike) Morse being out most of the year. They’re solid, one through 12.”

The Nationals finished a game under .500 last year, and the general perception was that the franchise was a year away from being a legitimate playoff contender.

The perception was wrong.

The Nationals have been in first, by as many as five games, every day since beating the Phillies on May 22. There are many reasons for the success—for example, shortstop Ian Desmond is an All-Star, phenom Bryce Harper has made an immediate impact and veteran Adam LaRoche has been a consistent source of power—but it starts with the rotation.

Jackson is convinced this group has a bit more upside than those Rays. “You look at the talent on paper, and you look at the potential this team has, and it’s off the charts,” he said. “I’m not even sure a lot of the guys realize the team we have, and we’re still winning. Once guys start realizing the team we have, it’s going to be even more fun.”

The numbers are impressive. Strasburg (2.81 ERA, 11.8 K/9) and Gonzalez (3.01 ERA, 10.5 K/9)—who are ranked second and third in the majors in FIP (fielding-independent pitching) at 2.27 and 2.51, respectively—were named Sundayy to the NL All-Star team. Zimmermann leads the staff with a 2.77 ERA, and Detwiler (3.30 ERA) and Jackson (3.57) have been consistent sources of quality starts.

“All these guys have plus fastballs, but they have plus off-speed, and that’s the big difference,” said Nationals pitching coach Steve McCatty, who’s known to everyone as just Cat. “If you just throw hard, if you make a lot of mistakes, you’re going to get hit. But they attack with their off-speed, and that’s what we want to do. Throw strikes and get them swinging.”

As much as anyone in the clubhouse, Gonzalez is a sponge. In Oakland, he spent hours and hours talking baseball with Dallas Braden, to the point where Gonzalez calls the former teammate who threw a perfect game “my ringman, because he’s always in my ear.” That thirst for learning hasn’t subsided with the Nationals; if anything, it’s expanded. “I think that’s the same kind of chemistry we’ve got going here,” Gonzalez said. “Everyone’s like, ‘Hey, I’ve got my two cents, I’m going to throw it in.’ Everybody’s picking up everybody, which is great.”

Gonzalez compiled a 3.17 ERA in 65 starts over the past two seasons with Oakland, but the cost-conscious A’s traded the lefthander to the Nationals in December. He feels like he’s found a home after a career of almost constant movement. Gonzalez was drafted by the White Sox in 2004, traded to the Phillies in 2005 as the player to be named in the Jim Thome trade, then shipped back to the White Sox a year later as part of the Freddy Garcia deal, then moved to Oakland in 2008 in the Nick Swisher trade.

Washington, clearly, is happy to have him. “He’s throwing 94-plus with a nasty hammer,” Jackson said. “He’s developed his changeup real well, and that’s been a good pitch for him. When you have lefties throwing 94-plus with a hook like that and a changeup, it’s pretty tough on hitters, especially from that three-quarters angle. Looks like it’s coming out of his shirt, and that’s hard for hitters to pick up.”

Zimmermann, a second-round choice of the Nationals in the 2007 draft, has emerged from injury issues a more mature, effective pitcher. A line drive to the face broke his jaw before his junior season at Wisconsin-Stevens Point, and then he had to undergo Tommy John surgery early in his second seasons in the big leagues.

As a rookie, Zimmermann struck out 9.1 batters per nine innings. This season, that number is sitting at 6.0 K/9, and that’s just fine with him.

“It’s more maturity and learning the game a little more,” Zimmermann said. “When I came up, I tried striking everyone out, and now I don’t care if I get a strikeout the rest of the year, as long as I can go six, seven or eight innings and keep the team in the game and try to put up a quality start every time.”

Detwiler, the No. 6 overall pick of the 2007 draft, is another homegrown talent. He made his big-league debut that September, with one scoreless inning, and the tall (6-foot-5), lanky lefthander has spent the past several seasons bouncing between the majors and the minors, and between the bullpen and the rotation while he’s been in the bigs.

Now, finally, he’s in the major-league rotation, and he’s not going anywhere anytime soon. His comfort level with McCatty has helped him weather the ups and downs of the past couple of seasons. “He doesn’t try to fill you up with everything he knows,” Detwiler said. “He’s going to let you go about your business, and if he sees something that needs to be tweaked, he’ll do it. But I think, especially for me, that lets me be free and clear and not overthink everything.”

When asked to describe Jackson for a Sporting News story on the Rays during that 2008 season, veteran closer Troy Percival offered this assessment: “Just electric stuff. He's got 96 in the bag if he wants it, maybe more, but I'm getting to sit back and watch him learn that 92 located is better than 97 all over the place. He's pitching 92, 92 and then, bam—here comes the 97. He's learning to locate, and that's been fun to watch.”

Jackson, who chose to sign a one-year deal with the Nationals instead of taking longer, more lucrative deals elsewhere, laughs when he hears that description: “Everyone evolves once they get more experience under their belt. It’s definitely been a process for me, being a position player and going to a pitcher. Every little bump and bruise in the road helped make me who I am today.”

And then there’s Strasburg, the former No. 1 overall pick from whom much is expected. When he’s been healthy, much has been delivered. This year, he leads the majors with 122 strikeouts, to go with his sub-3.00 ERA and 1.075 WHIP. “It’s not just one pitch, just the fastball, and it’s not just the curveball,” McCatty said. “The changeup, for me, is the separator for him from everybody else. It’s an unhittable, 90-mph changeup that’s a split. It’s unbelievable. He’s just got tremendous stuff, and he’s an unbelievable competitor.”

Of course, the big debate involving Strasburg concerns how much to use him in his first season back from Tommy John surgery. The reported plan coming into the season was to keep him to a set innings limit, but the franchise is a legitimate playoff contender. Will the Nationals decide to sit Strasburg in September or keep him in the rotation? It’s a dilemma.

“Well, that’s between Mike (Rizzo, the general manager) and Davey (Johnson, the manager),” McCatty said. “We talk about it, but you’ve got to be careful. The guy really only had a few weeks in the minor leagues. Other than pitching a lot of innings in college, he hasn’t been up there. With him, you’ve really got to be careful. The final decision comes down between Mike and Davey, but that’s something you have to keep an eye on.”

Right now, though, Strasburg’s focused on making an impact from start to start. And, of course, enjoying the All-Star selection. “It’s amazing to think where I was a year ago, so it’s great to see the hard work has all paid off,” Strasburg said. “But, it’s not done, it’s only at the halfway point of the year, and we’ve got a long ways to go.”

Because of this rotation, for the first time since they moved D.C. in 2005, “a long ways to go” means something other than playing out the string. It’s an opportunity, and Jackson isn’t the only one who knows how special that is.